To be absolutely honest I’d never heard of Crystal ball prior to receiving this, their sixth album. In fact I only chose to have this one sent to me because I thought they might be named after the Styx song of the same name. I’m glad that I made that choice though, as Secrets is a classy affair from start to finish. It is also deeply unfashionable, tuneful melodic rock of the sort that our continental friends do so well and that sell approximately no copies here in the land of Leona Lewis. 

Just because Crystal Ball come from Switzerland one may think they may well be a tad like Gotthard  - and to an extent they are, especially on the first two songs Moondance and I Will Bring You Down, both of which could have slotted nicely onto Domino Effect and that’s a sign of quality. It’s possible that we could learn something from the fact that the band began under the moniker of Cherry Pie because a sense of melody permeates throughout Secrets even on the relatively down beat Minor Key. 

It’s Not Love is up next and is a tad heavier in the guitar department but manages to fit in a line about having a mind, “in the gutter,” and I always find that it helps to have the book of melodic rock clichés near to hand. There’s also a quite fetching female vocal interlude in this tune but none of the accompanying material gives a clue as to who she may be. 

Time Has Come, to be fair, has “filler” written all over it and the title track isn’t the strongest either lacking the tunefulness of the aforementioned winners. Wings of Fire‘s guitar riff sounds remarkably like a slowed down version of Cherokee by Europe but let’s not hold that against them especially as the chorus goes, “on Wings of Fire, on Wings of Steel.” Tremendous. 

Dreaming of You comes across like a Whitesnake ballad to begin with but soon adopts its own personality and is one of the best tracks on the album. Destiny is somewhat of a slow burner that takes a few spins to get into but is ultimately well worth the effort. I’ll be Waiting and Face the Truth ensure that the album ends on a high and I’ll wager that Secrets will be received very well by its target audience. as indeed it should because its quite a goodie.

Let us know your views on Secrets

Track Listing

Moondance
I Will Drag You Down
Minor Key
It's Not Love
Time Has Come
Secrets
Wings Of Fire
Dreaming Of You
Destiny
I'll Be Waiting
Face The Truth

Line Up

Mark Sweeny - Vocals
Scott Leach - Guitars
Marcel Sardella - Drums
Hungi Berglas - Guitars
Sven Sieber - Bass
Philipp Meier - Keyboards